A Christmas story: His name is Blue

Christopher and Molly were in the same class at Ridge Peak Elementary, in a small town outside of Chicago, Ill. They also lived right next to each other. Molly had a lot of friends and her family was pretty well off, you couldn't say the same for Christopher. They always had a curiosity for each other, but most of the time they were both pretty quiet children. Maybe that's why they had this connection. Christopher loved the Chicago Bears and Molly loved all animals equally. She wanted to be a veterinarian when she got older. Christopher lacked self worth and didn't think it was appropriate to dream, because he never got what he wanted.

It was nearing the end of December and all the kids were going bananas because they knew Santa Claus would be making a trip to their house in less than a week. The whole week in school they had been making all types of different Christmas crafts; anything from decorating light bulbs to look like reindeer to making a Santa and a Snowman out of material then stuffing them with cotton balls. The spirit of Christmas was especially high in their third grade classroom today because they were going to the local library to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. At 10 a.m. Mrs. Vaughn told the children to bundle up because it was time to go sit on Santa's lap.

Mrs. Vaughn made sure all the kids held hands tightly while they were walking on the sidewalk, they always would stay in a tight little chain. Something like one of those paper chains, but this one was full of colorful children. Christopher enjoyed this less than the other kids, because it made him feel uncomfortable to hold hands with a stranger. He didn't particularly mind today though, because he was about to go see the man in the red suit, with the funny hat on his head, the man with the big belly. All Chris could think about was the joyous present that he was going to ask for.

A puppy is what he wanted for Christmas; he thought Santa would have to answer his prayers this year. Christopher figured since there were so many extras in the world, that Santa would certainly be able to get his hands on one. Molly was looking for something of the exact same but instead she wanted a kitty. A pretty white kitty that had a fluffy tail, she was going to make sure not to leave out that part, when she told Santa the specifics.

The other interests in the childrens minds were all the pretty Christmas lights and decorations that they seen along the way. There wasn't a bare light post for miles. Garland covered every inch of the green painted metal, plus red bows every five inches. Then at the top of the posts hung all sorts of signs: Santa, Mrs. Claus, elves, reindeer, snowmen, wooden toys, and magnificent Christmas trees. Everyone was filled to the brim with thoughts of presents and Christmas cheer. After walking three blocks they then arrived at the city library.

The walk seemed like an instant to the children, because they were all in some kind of holiday euphoria. There wasn't a sad bone in anyone's body, except the nervous twitch inside of Chris. He becomes worried every year around this time knowing that his chances of getting what he wants aren't very good; it has happened many times for this youngster already. Christopher and Molly stood at the back of the line with a few of their classmates between them. They are waiting patiently to see the man of the year. After all the other kids in front of them had gotten their brown bags full of treats, it is Chris' turn to sit on Santa's lap. He gets up there and immediately says I want a puppy with floppy ears. Santa says, "You got it son, a hound dog it is." The whole library had heard what Christopher wanted for Christmas.

Chris kept that smile on all day, of course he had been telling his parents that he wanted this dog for almost two months now.

He kept saying, I want the Huckleberry Hound dog that I see on TV. Please. Please. Please. I want that one.

The parents would just look at him with a little smirk on their face. The whole family just seemed emotionally detached. It was probably that his father was always failing to meet his quota or maybe the cigarettes that Chris' mother always had in her mouth. She always felt like she had it so rough. Always looking for someone to pity her.

Chris goes to bed that night more excited than he has ever been, just dreaming of the hound dogs that he has seen in the neighborhood. Waiting to be a proud owner of one himself. Then as soon as he gets done day dreaming he falls quickly to sleep. Chris wakes up so excited that he rushes down the stairs without even thinking of what else to do. What else do children do? But to his disappointment he only sees the same four presents that were under the tree when he went to bed. He thinks that Santa Claus didn't come this year either. His parents come down and ask Chris if he would like to open his presents now. He says, he would love to and his mother gives him the one with his name on it. He opens it to find an Etch a Sketch. He smiles and then sits down with his new toy.

Later that day, Christopher was playing outside with his new toy, when Molly had come out to let her new kitty use the bathroom. Molly had looked over at Christopher and could see the sadness in his face. She hurriedly grabs her new pet and rushes back inside. Molly begins to tell her mother about what Chris had wanted for Christmas and could see clearly that he did not receive the dog. Molly wants to do something about it, so her mother also feels compelled that she needs to make this child's Christmas better. They rush into the car and drive into Chicago.

They find the Animal Shelter that they had been to so many times before and go into the section where they house the dogs. Molly and her mother look down every row searching for a dog with the floppy ears that Christopher had talked about. They come to the last row of kennels and hear this yelp that catches their attention. Molly screams out, that this is the one that he wants. It was a Blue Tick Beagle and she knew that they would be taking this one home to give to Chris. They tell the worker that they want this one and that it is for a friend. As they are leaving the employee gives them a red bow to put around the puppy that was only eight weeks old. Molly is so excited, and holds it in her lap all the way home.

They get to the house and Molly's mother tells her to go knock on the door while she waits here and watches. Molly runs over to the door with the puppy in hand, she knocks on the door and Chris opens it with his Etch a Sketch in hand. He gasps and couldn't believe his bright blue eyes. It was the dog that he wanted for Christmas. Molly says that Santa was keeping the dog over at their house for the time being so it would be a big surprise. Christopher was jumping with joy at the sight of this hound dog that Santa Claus had brought him. Molly hands the dog off to Chris and he starts rubbing its ears.

Christopher says, "His name is Blue. I will call him Blue." He says thank you to Molly and that this is exactly what he had asked for. It is safe to say that this is the best Christmas that Chris ever had.